This Is What It's Like (When We Collide)
by andrealitysetin
Summary: Felicity Smoak was a romantic. Oliver Queen was anything but. Somehow their roles have reversed when they're set up by their best friends, making the night something that neither of them had expected. Will they still be able to find their way when they find it's not going to be easy to avoid each other? One thing's for certain - it won't be an easy ride. Olicity AU.


Felicity Smoak had always been a romantic. From the moment her mother Donna had remarried when she was only 5 years old, she had been fantasizing about her own wedding. Now, at the age of 22, she didn't even remember what it was like to not be in a relationship. One-night stands were a foreign concept to her, even in college. She believed wholeheartedly in soulmates and never once doubted that she would meet The One.

Until now.

How she had ended up emptying her boyfriend's dressers out of their shared bedroom's window while he was pleading her to forgive him, she had no idea, but she was pretty sure she had hit rock bottom.

Felicity had met Cooper in her freshman year of college. She had fallen head over heels in love with him, and the two were living in an apartment together by the time she was a sophomore. Cooper had been a year older than her, and had therefore graduated a year before. Their relationship had started going south from that point on, but Felicity had simply refused to see it. Of course catching your long-term boyfriend in your bed with his new colleague, was hard to ignore, even for her.

"Felicity, baby, please. It meant nothing, I swear. You know I only love you, right?" Cooper pleaded.

Felicity momentarily paused throwing his clothes out to stare at him, an incredulous look in her eyes. "Seriously? That's what you're going with? You know, I've known you for four years now, and I still had no idea you were such a fan of clichés." She shot him an icy glare. "Then again, I never took you for a cheating pig either."

"Felicity –" he started again.

"No. I've had enough of this, Cooper. I want you out. Now."

Cooper's pleading look disappeared, an angry one replacing it. "Fine, Felicity. If that's how this is going to be."

"And take the sheets. I'd throw them out myself but I'm afraid I might actually throw up if I have to touch those." Felicity gestured to the bed.

Shooting her one last look, Cooper obliged, slamming the door as he left.

Felicity sighed, looking at the now naked looking bed. "Guess I'm going bed shopping." She muttered to herself. This day was _so_ not going as she expected it would.

xxx

"Do you also take beds with you, by any chance? You could keep it, recycle the wood or something. Go green, and all that." Felicity enquired. The salesman, looking slightly confused, opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by the sound of her phone ringing. Looking at the screen, she saw it was Laurel calling, her step-sister as well as her best friend.

"Excuse me," she said apologetically, turning away from the salesman to answer.

"Hi Laurel!" she said, putting on her best cheerful voice.

"Hey Felicity," came Laurel's reply, sounding only slightly sceptical. "What are you up to?"

Felicity plopped down on one of the beds in the showroom. "Oh, you know, just buying a new bed."

"You're buying a new bed? What was wrong with your old one? And please don't tell me you and Cooper broke it, because I, as your sister, really don't need to hear about that."

"Yep," she answered, popping the p. "And no worries, me and Cooper won't be breaking any beds anytime soon. I'm actually buying a new bed because the old one was contaminated by him and some lady from work. Although I can't really call her a lady after what I walked in on. Do you think I should get a queen or a king size?"

"Oh my god Felicity, I'm so sorry. Are you okay? Do you need me to come?"

Felicity fell back on the bed. The salesman approached her but she held up her hand, gesturing for him to go away. "Never been better. I feel about 150 pounds lighter, to be exact. Seriously though, queen or king?"

"Felicity, you dated the man for four years. You guys were living together. It's completely understandable for you to be upset."

Felicity fought the urge to roll her eyes. She knew her sister meant well, but she had no idea. Having been in relationships since the day her mom deemed her old enough to be in one, it was surprisingly freeing to be 22 and single. She was done with guys screwing her over and that felt good. "I'm fine, I swear. The only thing I'm upset about is not being able to go the graduates gala. I was really looking forward to that. You know how gorgeous my dress is."

"Oh no, you are still going to that gala. Cooper is not taking that away from you. You can just come with me and Tommy."

"Laurel, I am not third-wheeling you and your new boyfriend. And the gala is tomorrow, so there's no time to find a replacing date. It's totally fine, I've been meaning to catch up on my Netflix queue anyways."

"Nonsense. If you don't want to be a third wheel, then I will find you a fourth wheel. Tommy has some really good-looking friends, you know."

Felicity thought about that for a while, silently chewing on her thumb nail. Eventually she relented with a sigh. "Fine. But I want to approve this guy. You know you're not allowed to set people up on blind dates anymore."

She could hear Laurel huffing on the other end of the line. "How was I supposed to know Nyssa wasn't into guys? But fine, I'll call Tommy to discuss and then I'll stop by your place so we can talk. Oh, and Felicity?"

"Yeah?"

"Go for the Queen."

xxx

"So I'm finally going to meet your sister, huh?" Tommy asked. Laurel had called him right after hanging up with Felicity.

"I trust you'll be on your best behaviour, Merlyn. And I might also need another favour from you," Laurel said, clamming her phone between her ear and her cheek so she could lock up her apartment.

"Is this favour sexual? Because I can be talked into almost anything. As long as it doesn't involve another dude." Tommy said, only half joking.

Laurel laughed. "Good to know. But no, this is actually for Felicity. She just broke up with her boyfriend, so she doesn't have a date anymore. She also didn't want to be a third wheel, so…" she explained, getting in the elevator.

"So you need me to loan out one of my eligible bachelors," Tommy finished. "No problem, anything for you. My best friend just moved back to town actually. Might be perfect."

She snorted. "Your best friend? As in your best friend Oliver, as in notorious player Oliver Queen? I'm pretty sure that would be about the _last_ thing Felicity needs right now." Another woman entered the elevator, making Laurel turn down her voice.

Tommy chuckled. "I don't know, I saw him yesterday and he really seems to have changed. I think a real relationship might be exactly what he's looking for, for a change. From what you've told me about Felicity, I think those two might really click."

The elevator dinged, notifying it was at her floor, the parking garage. She started walking to her car while answering. "Really? Now _that_ is interesting. Tell him to meet us there at 9." Laurel ended the call and smiled, satisfied with herself. "You're welcome, Felicity," she muttered while getting in her car. This was going to be a great night, she just knew it.

xxx

"That's perfect, thank you." Felicity smiled at the deliverer who had just finished putting together her new bed.

"Have a nice day, Miss," the man responded before leaving. With a heavy sigh Felicity let herself fall back on her new bed. "New bed, new life," she told herself.

What she'd told Laurel had been true. She really was fine with her and Cooper breaking up. The guy was a douche, and if she hadn't been so wrapped up in her fantasy view of romance she would have noticed it a lot sooner. Now, she was just sorry she'd lost 4 years of her life to him.

It was in that moment that she decided she needed to change. Her standpoint when it came to love was childlike, and she wasn't too proud to admit it was about time she became more rational. After 22 years of life, numeral break-ups, and countless fights, Felicity Smoak was done with guys. She was done losing herself in whatever guy she was with at the time, and she was done compromising her life to fit their needs. No, what Felicity needed, was a fling. A number of flings actually, until she would be able to figure out how to stay herself in a relationship. Until she would be able to trust a guy without excusing all his faults. The thought was nerve-wrecking, but exhilarating at the same time.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when the doorbell rang. "Oh, frack," she groaned. She had completely forgotten about the fact that Laurel was setting her up on a date.

Fully intending on calling it off, Felicity got up to open the door. Swinging it open revealed Laurel, who was grinning from ear to ear, holding up a bottle of wine.

"I come bearing wine," she exclaimed.

"You do know the way to my heart," Felicity said, smiling. She walked into her small kitchen to gather two wine glasses, Laurel closing the door behind her. "Laurel, listen –"

"I got you a date!" Laurel interrupted, seemingly too excited to let her finish. "And not with just any guy, it's Oliver Queen. He's Tommy's best friend. We can double date!" Laurel was beaming with excitement, even clapping her hands together.

Felicity contemplated this information for a brief second. She _had_ intended on telling Laurel she wasn't interested anymore, but her date being Oliver Queen changed things. She hadn't been living in Starling when Oliver had, but the guy had been infamous for his womanizer ways, before he had left on a 5 year trip to Asia. Just because she was a smart, well-rounded, educated woman didn't mean that she didn't check TMZ from time to time, and back then he was hard to miss. No, Oliver Queen might exactly be what she needed right now.

She walked back into her living room, where Laurel was waiting on the couch. "That's great Laurel, thank you," she responded, smiling at her while handing over one of the wine glasses.

"Really? Because I thought you might have concerns, but –", Laurel said, looking a bit dumbfounded.

"No that's perfect, seriously," she interrupted. "I'm really looking forward to tomorrow."

Laurel stared at her as if she was looking for something, but quickly replaced her puzzled look for an excited one. "Me too! It's going to be amazing. And I can't wait for you to meet Tommy."

"Mmm, how is that going anyways?" Felicity asked while taking a sip of her wine.

Laurel sighed blissfully. "He's amazing. Perfect actually. We're still in that honeymoon phase, you know? So –" Her eyes suddenly widened, covering her mouth with her hand. "I'm so sorry Felicity, you're going through a break-up. I didn't mean to be so in your face with my new relationship. How did you deal with Cooper anyways?"

"I may or may not have emptied all his drawers out in the street."

Laurel gasped. "You didn't! Even –?"

"Even his computer," Felicity finished. She couldn't help but starting to giggle a bit, Laurel soon joining in.

"I'm proud of you, sis. He's as protective about his technology as you are. He must have been furious."

She shrugged. "I guess. I didn't really pay much attention to him after he threw about every cliché ever made by cheating assholes at me. I threw him out soon after that."

"Cheers to that," Laurel replied, clinking her glass against Felicity's.

"Cheers to a graduation gala to remember."

xxx

"Who's this girl you're setting me up again?" Oliver asked as he drove him and Tommy to the gala.

"Felicity. Felicity Smoak. She just got her computer sciences degree. She's Laurel's step-sister and also her best friend, so try to make a good impression on her."

He smirked. "Getting girls to like me has never really been a problem for me, Tommy."

Tommy glared at him. "I'm serious, Oliver. I told Laurel you had changed, otherwise she wouldn't even have allowed this."

"I know, I'm sorry. I swear I've changed."

"Promise me? This is important to me Ollie."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Promise what?"

"That you won't sleep with her tonight."

"Seriously?" Oliver asked incredulously, swivelling his head to look at his friend in the passenger's seat."

"Yes, seriously. Would you please look at the road and not at me, as hard as I assume that must be?"

He chuckled. "Fine. I solemnly promise that I will not sleep with Felicity Smoak tonight."

"Are you making fun of me?"

"Only slightly. It's too easy, really."

Tommy slapped his shoulder. "How rude of you to make fun of a man in love," he complained dramatically.

"Tommy, it's been three weeks."

"I know. But I think this could be something special. _She_ 's really special," Tommy responded, his tone suddenly a lot more serious.

"Well, I'm happy for you man. You deserve it," Oliver said as he pulled in the parking lot.

They got out and started walking towards the entrance. "Did Laurel say where they were going to meet us?" he asked.

Tommy was already inspecting the area, searching for his girlfriend. "Near the entrance. They have our tickets."

Oliver smirked. "Well, then you'd better hope they didn't already –". He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence when a gorgeous brunette, Laurel he presumed, and an at least as gorgeous blonde suddenly appeared. The blonde had her hair pinned up, still allowing a couple of her curls to frame her face, and she was wearing a floor-length red dress with thin straps and cut outs between her chest and her waist. It was the type of dress that was considered classy, while also managing to be incredibly hot. "Wow," he muttered silently.

Tommy winked at him, and mouthed "you're welcome" before greeting his girlfriend with a kiss.

The blonde, Felicity, smiled at him. "I'm Felicity Smoak," she told him, extending her hand.

"Oliver Queen," he responded, bringing her hand up to his mouth so he could kiss it. As soon as he did it he regretted it, feeling like it might be too weird of a gesture in this situation, but he relaxed as soon as he saw the look in Felicity's eyes. He had enough experience with girls to know what that look meant.

As jokingly as he had been about his promise to Tommy however, he did intend on staying true to it. And he really had been trying to turn his life around. Tommy's words from before, about Laurel, were echoing in his head. He knew they had literally just met, but he had a feeling that this girl might be as special as her step-sister was, according to his best friend. And he would be lying if he said he wasn't intrigued.

xxx

Felicity knew Oliver Queen was hot, but _seriously_ , the pictures she found when she Googled him the other night did not do him justice. His hair was shorter than it used to be, and he seemed to be a lot more built. Also, the guy was wearing suspenders. _Suspenders_. She was pretty sure he was trying to kill her and any other females in a 2 mile radius.

She smirked mischievously as she took the arm he had extended to her in order to escort her inside. Yes, this guy would do. This guy would do just fine.


End file.
